


Admiration

by Star55



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Girl Direction, Oblivious Louis Tomlinson, Secret Admirer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 08:38:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19059121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star55/pseuds/Star55
Summary: Notes from a secret admirer start appearing in Louis' locker. She's not entirely convinced that it's not some elaborate hoax.





	Admiration

**Author's Note:**

> as per usual - thanks to emma for the beta and brit-pick, and to leah for the cheerleading (i love you so much leah, you're an incredible human being) ♥
> 
> any leftover mistakes are my own. Please (kindly) tell me if you find something glaringly awful.
> 
> Please do not break the fourth wall and show this to anyone in the band, their family, friends, etc, etc. Thank you. ♥

A piece of folded up paper falls out onto the ground as Louis opens her locker on Monday. She picks it up and opens it, eyes widening slightly as she takes in the contents. 

_You’re really lovely_ it reads.

She blushes a little and glances around. No one is looking at her. No one is even paying any attention to her. She didn’t see anyone near her locker when she approached it, which means that it could be _anyone_. And it’s lunchtime now, so it’s not like she could pinpoint who it is even if she wanted to.

“What’s that?” Niall asks, appearing out of nowhere. She plucks the note from Louis’ fingers and reads it out loud. “Well, _someone’s_ got a secret admirer.”

“In a school full of other girls?” Louis asks dubiously. “I don’t think so.”

Niall shrugs. “You know you’re not the only lesbian, or girl who likes other girls in this school, mate.”

Louis takes the note back from her and slides it between two books. She doesn’t have the time to think about this right now. She shoves the books from her last lesson into the locker and grabs her lunch. 

“Who do you reckon it’s from?” Niall asks as they wander towards the canteen. 

“No idea,” Louis replies. “It’s probably just someone playing a prank. You know, with me being the first out lesbian in school, someone’s probably just pulling my leg.”

The sigh that comes out of Niall is long and noisy. “Lou,” she begins, looping her arm through Louis’. “What if someone’s being genuine?”

“Then they can tell me to my face,” Louis replies. They sit down and she opens up her lunchbox to get her sandwich out. She’s been starving since ten o’clock. 

Niall sits across from her and snatches half of Louis’ sandwich. She always does this. Every single lunchtime, without fail, she does this. It’s why Louis started packing extra food way back in year eight when Niall moved to England from Ireland and started at Louis’ school. Niall always brings enough food of her own, but she somehow still manages to eat half of Louis’ lunch, too. And half of their other friend, Liam’s food, too. Which is probably why Liam takes to eating before she joins them at their table. Louis doesn’t blame her.

“What if it’s Blake? She’s fit,” Niall says through a mouthful of food. “Or Hannah? She’s cute. Your type. And bi, so you’re in with a shot at least.”

Louis rolls her eyes. “Nialler,” she begins, “I don’t care who it is. If they’re serious, they can talk to me in person.”

“A bit hard,” Niall says, taking another bite of her food. “You’re a bit intimidating.”

“Who’s intimidating?” Liam asks, sitting down next to Louis. She keeps her lunch closer to herself, Louis notices. Smart move around Niall.

“Louis is.”

Louis rolls her eyes again. 

“Yeah, I know.”

“What? You agree with her?” Louis asks incredulously.

Liam nods, her ponytail bobbing as she does. “Yeah, as if you don’t know.”

“….Clearly I don’t.”

Liam hesitates, her gaze flicking to Niall’s before landing back on Louis. “It’s not in a bad way,” she begins slowly, like she’s preparing Louis for bad news. Louis sighs but angles her body to face Liam’s. “You’re kind of… well… tough. But it’s in a good way. It’s needed in someone who’s the captain of the footie team.”

Louis tears her gaze away from Liam’s and looks around at the other students in the canteen, all eating their lunches, chatting with their friends and laughing. Among them is not only the person who allegedly wrote that note that was put into Louis’ locker, but also apparently there are people in here who find her intimidating. She doesn’t know whether to be proud that that is her branding, or upset that it’s her branding. 

Louis always considered herself an easy going person. She loves to have a laugh, loves to hang out with her friends, and enjoy the things that she likes. She didn’t realise that she was _intimidating_ in any way. But she can’t be _soft_ either. Not in public. Not when it’s been used against her before when she was younger by the wrong people. And definitely not at school where there are people just _waiting_ for her to fail, teachers included. 

“I can’t be a pushover,” Louis beings. “You try being the eldest of five, you need to be tough.”

“And we get that,” Liam says, her tone still soft. “But maybe you can…”

“Soften up a _bit_?” Niall adds. Her hand reaches for Louis’ crisps and Louis slaps her hand. Niall winces and drops the bag. “Bit harsh, Lou.”

“You’ve eaten half me lunch already!” Louis exclaims. “I haven’t even had _one_ crisp yet.”

Niall folds her arms in front of her and leans on the table with her elbows. “Look, we know what you’re like and we love you. We’re the only ones that count, right, Li?”

Liam nods. “We wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Louis chews on the mouthful of sandwich she just took. Do people really think she’s unapproachable? That she’s intimidating? And scary? She _had_ been called Scary Spice by Niall a few times, but she thought that it was just in jest, like she called Niall Baby Spice because she was the youngest. Liam was _clearly_ Sporty Spice, despite Louis being the captain of the footie team. Liam was _very_ sporty. 

“Why are we talking about Louis being intimidating anyway?” Liam asks a few moments later, pulling Louis out of her thoughts.

“Louis got a note in her locker. From a _secret admirer_ ,” Niall says gleefully. 

Louis feels her cheeks burning and she hopes that they aren’t all blotchy like they usually are when she goes red. “ _I_ think it’s a prank,” she says pointedly. “You know, because I’m gay.”

Liam shoots her a dubious look. “Niall and I are both gay, too, and no one left us notes in our lockers.”

“That’s different, you’re both bisexual,” Louis says, “that’s more accepted because you’re both still into guys. And yes, I _know_ that it’s a whole other issue,” she adds before Niall can start protesting. She absolutely agrees with them – bisexual erasure is _very_ real, especially in their school. But they’re also not seen as a _threat_ to other girls like Louis is because she’s attracted to girls only. 

“We’re both minorities,” Liam says diplomatically. “But if this is someone pranking you, then it can be taken to a teacher or something.”

“And if they’re _genuine_ ,” Niall adds pointedly, “then you might come out of this with a girlfriend.”

Louis looks between her two best friends and their earnest faces. “Whatever,” she says, balling up her rubbish. “It was probably meant for someone else, anyway. I bet that it was a one off and they get the right locker next time.”

~*~

If Louis thought that it was a one off, she was wrong. She gets another note every single day for the rest of the week, and twice on the Friday.

Niall had crowed _loudly_ at Louis when she found out. The second note Louis was able to hide in her English notebook, her cheeks burning after she had read _You light up every room you walk into_. She didn’t recognise the handwriting, so it was either someone she didn’t know (which was a very real possibility in a school that had a few hundred students in it), or someone was disguising their handwriting so she didn’t recognise it. 

The fourth note, however, had been spotted by Niall as Louis opened her locker before lunch on the Thursday. Louis wasn’t fast enough to take it back off her before Niall was leaning against the lockers next to Louis’ and reading the note out loud. This one read _I love your smile_ , which was nice and tame, but didn’t stop Louis’ cheeks from burning hotly, especially with the way Niall read it. 

Louis was more than surprised to see receive two notes on Friday. One was at the standard time before lunch (really, Louis needs to work out a way to get to her locker _before_ lunch to see if she can find out who this person is), and the other was before her last lesson of the day. 

Normally Louis doesn’t stop at her locker before her last lesson, but she had forgotten her text book and had to double back to get it. The note sat there, folded up on the bottom of Louis’ locker. The contents of this note made Louis’ heart thud a little in her chest. 

_You have eyes a girl could drown in._

It definitely seemed like it was a girl who liked girls at least. And hopefully _not_ a prank, but Louis still wasn’t holding her breath. 

A tiny part of her hopes that it isn’t a prank, that it’s someone who genuinely likes her, but after the conversation the other day when Liam and Niall told her how intimidating she is, she doesn’t hold out much hope.

With a sigh, Louis slings her bag over her shoulder. She has her mountain of homework packed into it, and the notes carefully tucked between the pages of one of her text books. She figures keeping them at home, away from anyone potentially seeing them, is the best option. 

“Can you give me a lift home?” Niall asks as Louis reaches the car park. She’s leaning against Louis’ shit box of a car, one foot propped up against the tyre. 

“Yeah, of course,” Louis replies. She unlocks the car and they both throw their bags into the backseat. 

“Any closer to figuring out who your secret admirer is?” Niall asks. Her feet are resting on the dashboard, which she knows Louis hates. She swats at Niall’s legs and she lowers them onto the floor. She shifts, angling her body to face Louis a little better.

“No,” Louis replies, tightening her hands on the steering wheel. “Getting any _closer_ would mean that I had some idea to begin with and I don’t. Never have.”

Niall hums. She leans back into the backseat, and Louis squawks at her. 

“What are you doing?” she demands.

“Don’t be such a fuddy duddy,” Niall replies. She has Louis’ bag in her hands and is rummaging through it like she has every right to.

“Niall.” It’s a warning and Niall knows it is, but she ignores it anyway.

“Yeah, I don’t recognise this handwriting at _all_ ,” Niall replies. “But hey, looks like she’s definitely into girls.”

Louis chances a glance at her, seeing the note that Niall is holding up. “Put those back.”

Niall shoots her a cheeky grin and makes a show of putting them back into the book she found them in. Louis doesn’t know why she’s friends with Niall. 

“C’mon,” Niall says, poking Louis’ thigh. “It’s a _good_ thing. And I know you’re curious otherwise you would’ve thrown those notes out.”

Burning cheeks is the only response Niall gets from Louis. She laughs, pokes Louis in her red cheek, and then sits back in her seat. Louis has half a mind to drop of her off on the side of the road and make her walk the rest of the way home. 

But she doesn’t. Because Niall is right. Louis hates to admit it, but she’s a little bit right.

It feels… well, it feels _nice_ to have this kind of attention. Now that it’s been going on for a week, Louis is still dubious about it all, but not as much as she was when she got the first note. Unless the person is consistently getting the wrong locker. Which is a possibility, and would suck a lot for Louis. 

Louis pulls up Niall’s driveway and idles there, waiting for her friend to get out.

“You’re allowed to want this,” Niall says softly. She gives Louis a look she can’t decipher. She leans over, kisses Louis’ cheek with a loud, smacking noise, and reaches into the backseat for her own bag. She slams the door behind her and waves to Louis as she walks up the driveway to her house.

Louis takes a breath and reverses, trying not to let Niall’s words play over in her head for the rest of the duration of her drive home.

~*~

The _very loud_ presence of Louis’ four younger sisters all weekend makes her almost forget about the notes. She does her homework, goes to her footie match, goes to work, comes home, plays with her sisters, watches princess movies with them, talks on the phone with Niall, texts Liam, and spends some quality time with her mum, and by the end of the weekend, she’s _exhausted_.

So exhausted that by the time Monday morning rolls around, all Louis can think about is the fact that she isn’t exactly sure if she left her English essay on her desk at home or if she did, in fact, pack it. 

She stops at her locker to unload the things she doesn’t need, and upon opening it, a square of pink paper falls out. She quickly picks it up and shoves it into the front pocket of her schoolbag so she can finish putting her books away. She gets out the ones that she needs for her first lessons and yawns widely.

“Have a good weekend?” Liam asks, startling Louis. 

“Yeah, it was alright,” she replies. She yawns again and closes her locker, completely forgetting all about the note in her bag as she walks with Liam to their registration room. 

“I’m thinking of asking Sophia out,” Liam says in a rush as they wander down the corridor together a short while later. 

“Primark Sophia?” Louis asks, stopping in the middle of the corridor.

Liam blushes and nods. “I went in on Saturday,” she says, “and she flirted with me the entire time. I’m just gonna do it. I’m going to ask her out.”

Louis grins and playfully shoves Liam. “Get in! That’s aces, Li.”

Liam gives her a crinkly eyed smile in return. “Thanks. I hope she says yes.”

“Li,” Louis says softly, “of course she will. How could she not? You’re incredible.”

A pink flush covers Liam’s cheeks. “You’d better get to English or you’ll be late.”

“Shit,” Louis says. She pats Liam on the shoulder and hurries back in the opposite direction. 

She makes it to her English classroom _just_ as the bell goes. She slumps into her seat, hiding another yawn with her hand. She pulls out her books as the teacher starts saying the dreaded words that no student likes to hear.

“You’re going to be working in pairs,” Miss Cooper says. Louis bites back a groan. “And I’m picking them.”

How Louis gets paired with the cutest girl in the class is beyond her, but she’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

Miss Cooper explains that they’re going to be working together for the next few weeks on this specific project. 

They had just started Shakespeare this month and are going to continue exploring the topic as a part of their coursework. This part Louis doesn’t mind – she kind of enjoys Shakespeare. Once she got passed the confusing language, it all made sense. He was kind of awesome to read. Not that she’d admit that to anyone, of course.

But it means that she’ll definitely be able to pull her weight. Because not only is Harry the cutest girl in Louis’ English Literature class, but she’s also the smartest. Alongside Zayn Malik, that is, but Zayn is some kind of English prodigy or something because ever since Louis has known of her, she’s never known Zayn to get anything less than an A plus for every single essay or assignment.

She’s actually kind of glad that she didn’t get paired with Zayn because _that_ would have been intimidating. 

Once Miss Cooper finishes giving out the instructions, Louis opens her notebook to a clean page. She reaches into her bag for a pen and quickly writes the date at the top of the page. She’s just started to write out the instructions that are on the board so she doesn’t forget anything when Harry taps her on the shoulder.

“Um, you dropped this,” Harry says, holding out a pink square of unfolded paper.

Louis’ cheeks immediately burn. “Um, thanks,” she mumbles, taking it from Harry. It’s unfolded. Which means that Harry read it. Louis hasn’t even read it yet and now someone else has. 

“Is that from your girlfriend?” Harry asks softly, her voice thankfully low.

Louis shakes her head. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“It’s really sweet,” Harry continues. “Someone must really like you.”

“It was probably put in the wrong locker,” Louis replies. She desperately wants to read the note, but she doesn’t want to while in class. The last thing she wants is for Miss Cooper to see her reading it and confiscate it. 

Harry hums. The next sentence out of her mouth is thankfully related to their assignment, so Louis stuffs the paper back into the pocket of her bag and focuses her attention on the task at hand.

Once the lesson has ended and Louis is safely out of the way of Harry, and other prying eyes, she opens the note. And promptly turns bright red.

 _You look really sexy in your footie kit_.

~*~

For the rest of the week, more notes appear. They are all a lot more innocent than the football related one, thankfully.

But by the end of the week, the notes change. They stop being little compliments about Louis’ appearance, or smile, or how generous and kind she apparently is, and they start being little poems. They’re four lines at most, but they’re sweet, and Louis finds herself reaching for the notes throughout the day, especially after her Maths lesson when all she wants to do is cry. 

The pink square of paper is plucked from Louis’ fingers before she even registers what’s going on. She looks up, ready to swear at whoever it was that stole it, when she sees Niall’s shock of blonde hair as she leans against the lockers.

“Shit, Lou,” she says lowly. “This girl has it _bad_ for you.”

Heat blossoms over Louis’ cheeks as she snatches the note back from Niall. It tears in the corner. It upsets her more than it probably should. She shoves it between the pages of the Maths text book she just shoved back into her locker and then purposefully slams her locker shut.

“Let’s go to lunch.”

Niall follows, chattering about something that Louis can’t really concentrate on right now. She’s far too embarrassed. The poem on that note that Niall had just read is one of her favourites. She wanted to keep that for herself, and for herself alone, but Niall’s read it, now, and Louis is just waiting for the onslaught of comments to follow.

But they don’t. 

Louis is confused.

Liam sits down at their table ten minutes later, Niall is still prattling on about the footie game at the weekend, and Louis is so very, very confused. 

“I did it,” Liam says breathlessly. 

“Did what?” Louis asks. Niall gives Louis a _look_ but turns her attention to Liam.

“I asked out Sophia.”

“And?”

“She said yes.”

Louis’ loud cheering noises draw the attention of several close by tables, but she doesn’t care. Her best friend has a _date_ with her crush. She is so happy for Liam. She tells her just that. Liam beams at her in response.

“Thanks, Lou,” Liam says, her eyes crinkling happily in the corners. Louis eventually lets go of her. 

“I’m proud of you, Li.”

“Me too,” Niall adds. “Where are you going for your first date?”

“I’ve got a booking at Russo’s on Friday,” Liam replies.

Louis whistles. “Wow, Payno! Breaking out the big guns!”

Liam promptly blushes. “I want her to like me.”

“Li,” Niall says, “she wouldn’t have said _yes_ if she didn’t like you.”

“…Still,” Liam mumbles. “I just want to make a good impression.”

“You will,” Louis says, hoping that she’s soothing Liam’s fears rather than feeding them.

“Will you come over and help me pick out something to wear?” Liam asks, glancing at both of them. 

“Of course,” Louis replies. “I’ll be there.”

“Me too.”

Relief floods Liam’s features. “Thanks.”

The rest of the day passes and Louis forgets all about Niall reading the poem until they’re in Louis’ car and she’s driving Niall home.

“Feet off the dashboard,” she reprimands. 

Niall’s feet hit the floor with a thud. “So you’re getting poems now?”

Louis’ hands instinctively grip the wheel tighter. “Yes.”

“Do you still think someone is pranking you?”

Silence fills the car. She isn’t sure _what_ to think at the moment. She likes the poems. They’re nice, and sweet, and innocent. And they give Louis a confidence boost. They make her feel _good_. 

But she knows that if this is all a prank, she will feel a whole lot worse.

“Have you thought about finding out who is sending you these notes?” Niall asks after the silence spans on for too long.

With a sigh, Louis pulls over in front of some random house, on a street close enough to Niall’s. She shuts off the engine and turns to face her other best friend. 

“Not really.”

“Bullshit.”

The thing with Niall, is that she’s always been able to see through Louis’ crap. They’ve known each other for far too long now for Louis to even try to hide things from her. With another sigh, Louis taps out a beat on the steering wheel.

“Let’s look at this,” she begins. “What if it _is_ some elaborate prank? The best case is that someone is constantly getting the wrong locker, and the worst is that I’m humiliated in front of the entire school, it becomes legend about the lezzer who thought someone _actually_ liked her, _and_ I get my feelings crushed like a bug under someone’s boot.”

“Why do you automatically assume that it’s a prank?” The softness of Niall’s voice throws Louis. She wasn’t expecting that. She turns to look at Niall, sees the sincerity on her face, the hope, the _want_ for Louis to believe her. And it just… it hurts. 

“Because in eighteen years, no one has ever liked me,” Louis says quietly. “Because I’ve always been the butt of jokes because I’m a lesbian. The one people have to be _careful_ around. Like I’m just going to turn into some disgusting person who can’t keep their hands or their thoughts to themselves. You know. Like a _guy_.”

The sound of Niall unclicking her seatbelt forces Louis to look over at her. She cups Louis’ face in both of her hands and just _stares_ at her. Louis blinks. Niall is far too close. This is far too intimate and she tries to pull back but Niall isn’t having any of it. Her hands are firm, sure, _certain_. Louis can feel the calluses of her fingers pressing into her skin. She can feel the heat radiating from Niall’s palms as she continues to just hold Louis’ face. 

She isn’t sure what Niall is searching for, or if she’ll ever find it, but she’s more than startled when Niall’s lips press softly against her own. 

It’s brief. 

It isn’t the first time that Niall has kissed Louis. The first time was when they were fifteen, at a party, and drunk on two cheap beers that they had nicked from someone’s stash. 

But this time feels different. 

Back then it had been experimenting. Louis had been outed the year before, and Niall had confessed that she was bisexual the week before. But it was like kissing her sister, Louis thought. She felt the same way about Liam, too, who had been somewhat annoyed that she had been left out of the kissing action, and then sobbed drunkenly into Louis’ arms and cried about how she, too, was bisexual, and that she had a crush on a girl in the year above them. 

Niall doesn’t try to deepen the kiss. It’s just her lips pressing against Louis’ for what feels like forever, but is probably just a few seconds.

“Never,” Niall begins, staring right into Louis’ eyes. “ _Never ever_ let me hear you talk that shit about yourself ever again. You’re fucking _incredible_ Louis. Alright? And I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so.”

Louis is helpless but to nod. Niall finally lets go of her face. 

The rest of the drive to Niall’s is silent. She waves over her shoulder as she gets out of the car, leaving Louis’ brain whirring at the turn her afternoon took.

~*~

The notes continue.

Poems, lyrics, little comments about something the mystery person likes about Louis, all continue to appear in her locker. 

Niall staked out Louis’ locker one day, but even she couldn’t figure out who it was. That made Louis feel a little better. At least Niall wasn’t keeping it a secret from her.

The notes find their way every day after school into Louis’ drawer at home. There’s a steadily growing pile, and she still has no idea who is sending them. A part of her doesn’t want to know, in case it shatters the illusion she’s created in her head.

But now, Louis needs to focus on English. 

Harry is wearing cute ribbons in her hair today, and it’s very distracting. They’re not regulation, but she hasn’t been pulled up on it yet. Probably because all of the teachers love her. 

“So,” Harry begins slowly when there’s other chatter in the room. “My friend likes your friend.”

This immediately piques Louis’ interest. “Oh really?” she asks, trying not to show how excited she is about this piece of gossip.

Harry nods. The ribbons move with the motion. “Yeah. She wants to know if Niall is single.”

“…Who is this friend of yours?” she asks instead of replying.

Harry bites her bottom lip, but her gaze immediately flicks to Zayn, who is doodling in her notebook, her project partner trying to engage her in conversation, but Zayn clearly isn’t having any of it.

Louis’ eyes widen dramatically. “Zayn?” she exclaims, probably louder than she should have considering Zayn’s head snaps up to look at her. She gives Zayn a sheepish look, but her gaze slips straight passed Louis and locks on Harry’s. She glares. God, she’s even beautiful when she glares, Louis notices. 

Zayn Malik – highly mysterious, extremely gorgeous, the number one student in the school. The girl that _everyone_ fancies, even if they’re not explicitly into girls. She’s the epitome of mysterious, gorgeous, sweet, and intelligent that everyone aspires to be.

And Louis had _no idea_ that she and Harry were friends. _Or_ that she was into girls.

“Niall is very single,” Louis finds herself saying. She knows very well that Niall thinks Zayn is ‘an absolute goddess, honestly, Louis. I want her to sit on my face and suffocate me’. 

She’s pretty positive that Niall won’t care that Louis is letting Zayn know that she’s single. The prospect of Niall getting flustered in Zayn’s presence is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Niall doesn’t get easily flustered, but whenever Zayn walks by, or nods in Niall’s direction, Niall becomes the cliché of being unable to function around her crush. It’s absolutely endearing.

“Well, that’s lovely to hear,” Harry replies. Right. Harry is talking to her. She’s leaning a little closer into Louis’ space, which is both insane and intoxicating. Clearly Harry has no qualms about being too close to the school lesbian. 

“We should set them up,” Harry says conspiratorially. She has an excited look on her face, and her curls seem to bounce with excitement as she speaks. 

“Didn’t Zayn want to know if Niall is single?” Louis asks, confused.

“Oh, she does,” Harry replies easily. “But she’ll never do anything about it. She’s painfully shy.”

 _That_ is news to Louis. “Zayn’s shy?”

Harry nods. “It’s why she never talks to anyone. Well, anyone that isn’t me. But I’m not shy. Well. Most of the time.” An indecipherable look crosses her face, but it quickly disappears into a smile. “What’s Niall into? Like date wise?”

Miss Cooper looks their way. “Girls, you’re supposed to be focusing on your coursework, not gossiping.”

“Yes, Miss Cooper,” they say in unison.

They turn their attention back to their project for the duration of the lesson. At the end, Harry passes Louis a piece of torn notebook paper.

“That’s my number,” Harry says, standing up. “We should set them up.”

Louis glances down at the piece of paper, sees the digits scrawled across it in Harry’s familiar handwriting, and then she nods. “I’ll text you tonight.”

Harry beams at her, turns on her heel and leaves the room with Zayn by her side. Zayn shoots Louis a look over her shoulder that she can’t decipher, either. It has to be something they’ve practiced together. 

Louis makes her way to her locker to collect her books for her next lesson in a bit of a daze. She has Harry Styles’ number. The same girl she’s had a crush on for the majority of her secondary schooling life. 

It’s just a shame that she got Harry’s number for a set-up of their friends, and not for a potential date themselves.

Still, Niall is going to lose her shit, and that’s a perk that Louis isn’t going to forget.

~*~

“You’re a fecking bitch.”

Louis bites back the laughter that wants to spill from her. “I love you too, Nialler.”

Niall pokes Louis in the side. _Hard_. “I hate you so much right now. I’m not even wearing a clean shirt! She can’t see me like this!”

Louis had wasted no time in messaging Harry to set Zayn and Niall up. The perfect time was that weekend. Liam had her first date with Sophia on the Friday, and it had gone so well that Sophia asked Liam out again to go out on the Saturday to the movies. Liam, being the gentlewoman she was, agreed, and had politely asked if Niall and Louis could come too. Which led to Louis texting Harry, and Harry saying she would be there with Zayn.

And Louis just told Niall about it three minutes ago, which is why she’s currently being the source of Louis’ unending amusement with her ranting and her stressing. 

“Swap shirts with me,” Niall says insistently. “C’mon, you owe me this much.”

With a heavy sigh, Louis nods. She’s all but dragged into the toilets so that she can trade shirts with Niall. Niall’s shirt is a little snug on her, but it fits. She doesn’t even care about the food stain on the front. It’s not like she’s trying to impress anyone like Niall is. Well, she sort of is trying to impress Harry, but this isn’t about her, it’s about Niall.

“I look like shite, don’t I?” Niall asks, running a hand through her short hair. 

“Niall, stop it,” Louis says, capturing her hands in her own. She squeezes them softly. “Take a deep breath. You look great. And it’s a movie, you don’t even have to talk to Zayn during it. Just… pretend you’re hanging with me.”

“I am hanging with you,” Niall deadpans. 

Louis shoots her _a look_ and Niall nods. 

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Smell me breath?” Niall asks, breathing on Louis before she even has a chance to agree or not. It’s not the worst that it’s smelled, but they’re going to be having popcorn in a minute, so Louis doesn’t see the issue.

They exit the toilets and three feet away, their respective crushes stand, with Liam and Sophia (who are being tooth-rottingly sweet, the way they’re holding hands and leaning into each other). Niall squares her shoulders. Louis has never seen such determination on her before. She’s quite proud.

Harry beams at them when she spots them. Zayn turns around a little slower, ever the runway model. Louis hears Niall gasp next to her and as if on cue, Niall stumbles. Zayn’s hands immediately shoot out to steady her, and honestly, Louis is a background character in a cute rom-com. This is her life. 

But when Niall and Zayn smile at each other, she can’t be annoyed about it.

“Looks like we’re the only couple left,” Harry says, nudging Louis’ side. 

“Huh?” Louis asks stupidly. Harry gestures to their friends. Liam and Sophia have gone ahead to purchase their tickets and Niall and Zayn are following, walking rather closely together. 

Amusement sparks in Louis’ chest. For all of her worrying, Niall is sure hitting it off with Zayn. From her position, Louis can see Zayn smiling at Niall. She ducks her head, her eyelashes fanning across her cheekbones. Niall, for her part, seems to have stopped breathing altogether. Like she can’t believe that this is really happening.

“I thought it would take more work, if I’m honest,” Harry says, interrupting Louis’ thoughts. “Getting them together.”

“Niall’s fancied Zayn for ages,” Louis replies with an easy shrug. They start walking towards their friends. Harry purchases both of their tickets, despite Louis’ protests. Louis buys Harry some popcorn in return. 

They don’t even all sit together. Liam and Sophia wander towards the middle of the cinema, and Niall and Zayn make their way towards the back. Louis bites her lip, wondering where to go. 

“Sit with me?” Harry asks. She leads Louis down an empty aisle and sits down in one of the seats. Louis is helpless but to follow. 

Harry emits a warmth that has Louis leaning into her without realising it. They sit through the entire movie like that. 

During the funny parts, Louis can hear Niall’s loud laugh, and she has to smile, glad that Niall isn’t holding herself back just because she’s with the girl she likes.

When the movie ends, Louis feels a pang of sadness. She doesn’t want the day to end. But it does, and she’s soon driving Niall home, listening to her non-stop chatter about Zayn. Her heart feels warm for her friends being so happy. It’s a good feeling.

~*~

_You have the best laugh and the cutest smile_

It’s the first non-poem note that Louis has received in over a week. There’s something different about it, though. She puts it down to the fact that it’s light blue paper this time, but there’s something odd about the handwriting, familiar somehow, but also not. Louis bites her lip and puts the note into her bag, like usual. 

Lunchtime is also vastly different. Niall and Zayn are apparently girlfriends after Saturday, and are also inseparable. And because Harry is Zayn’s best friend, she joins their table for lunch, too. It’s a little crowded, but in the best way possible. Louis is just thankful that Sophia is older, and therefore out of school, otherwise she’d definitely feel like the fifth wheel. 

It takes a few days to get used to it, but Louis is happy that their group has expanded to include two more people. It feels _right_ to her. And when she, Niall, and Liam, go off to footie practice, Zayn and Harry tag along. They tag along to everything that week, and it’s nice, Louis thinks. She enjoys their presence, and their personalities. She enjoys them a lot. 

_I wish I could tell you who I am, but I’m afraid you won’t like me when you find out my identity_.

That’s what the note that Louis gets on Thursday reads. She frowns at it, trying to think of _anyone_ that could be writing these notes. It isn’t Hannah, who is the only other single girl who likes girls. Louis knows her handwriting from all of their times partnered up in Science together. 

But there’s no other girls who like girls at the school. Not that Louis knows of, at least. Zayn, Niall, and Liam are all taken. And she isn’t writing notes to herself. It’s definitely not her friends, they wouldn’t be so cruel to her.

But the thing is, Louis is really starting to think that the person behind the notes is someone she definitely could like. Someone that she might want to date, even. If they ever showed themselves, that is.

The hard part, though, is that the more time Louis spends with Harry, the more her crush on Harry intensifies. She thinks that she’s been subtle, that she hasn’t let Harry know her feelings at all. Straight girls don’t tend to react well when a lesbian has a crush on them. _That_ she’s found out the hard way.

Twice.

Still, Harry doesn’t seem to be homophobic. And Louis feels like she’s had plenty of opportunities to speak her mind, especially considering that everyone in their friend group is somewhere on the gay scale. 

Just not Harry.

And it makes Louis a little sad. But she won’t show it. She doesn’t need that kind of heartache. Not again. Not ever, really.

“If the wind changes, your face will stay like that forever.”

“Huh?” Louis looks up, finding herself in the English room, having made her way there without even realising it. Harry shoots her a quizzical look from where she’s already sitting at their desk.

“You’re frowning an awful lot,” Harry says. 

“Oh.” Louis immediately stops frowning. The note is securely in her bag, she made sure of that, but the contents of it are still weighing heavily on her mind.

This… secret admirer (Louis hates calling the note-writer that, but she can’t think of something _else_ that fits properly) seems to think that Louis won’t like them. 

She can’t help but think back to that first conversation with Niall and Liam – what if it’s Louis that’s the problem? Because she’s so intimidating. The person is probably scared to open up to her in case they think Louis is going to laugh at them. God, what if they think Louis is going to laugh at them? She would never do that! She’s not a cruel person. And she would never humiliate someone like that. She knows what that’s like from personal experience. She would never willingly do that to someone else.

“…Lou.”

“Huh?”

“Are you alright? You’re frowning again, and you’ve been staring at the page for the last ten minutes,” Harry says. “Do you not understand the question? I can go over it for you, if you like?”

Bless Harry, really. She’s an absolute angel for putting up with Louis like she is.

“Sorry,” Louis mumbles. “I’ll concentrate. Promise.”

Harry shoots her a wobbly smile, and Louis turns her attention back to their work. She pushes all thoughts of secret note writers out of her mind and focuses on her coursework. That’s what is important right now. She needs a good grade in this A Level if she wants to go to a good university.

“What had you so distracted?” Harry asks when their lesson ends. They exit the classroom together, walking slower than they probably should considering they still have one more lesson to get to before the end of the day.

Louis shrugs one shoulder. “Nothing,” she replies. She doesn’t want to bring up the notes with Harry – it’s hard enough talking about them with Niall and Liam, and they’ve been her very best friends for the longest time now. To bring up such a topic with Harry – someone that she not only has a bit of a crush on, but someone who is so new to being Louis’ friend – would feel odd. She doesn’t want to bring out her domineering personality this soon into their friendship.

“Well, I’m here if you ever want to talk, okay?” Harry offers. She’s the sweetest person ever. Louis gives her a crooked smile.

“Thanks,” she says. 

“I know we’re only new friends, but sometimes a fresh perspective can really help,” Harry adds. She gives Louis a dazzling smile before squeezing her shoulder gently. “I’d better go in.”

Louis blinks. She didn’t even realise that she had walked Harry to her class. One that Louis definitely does _not_ share with Harry. She still has to make it to her own classroom before the bell sounds, and she’s running on precious little time as it is.

“Thanks, Harry,” Louis says. “You’re a real friend.”

The beaming smile that Harry gives her in return makes Louis feel giddy for the rest of the day.

~*~

_I figured it’s time I tell you a little about me. My favourite colour is pink. I like the number 17, and I have two cats_.

It’s the longest non-poem note that Louis has ever received. 

It’s a little odd to be receiving a note that has information about her secret admirer on it, but it’s not unwelcome. In fact, Louis feels like this is more of an actual person, rather than an anonymous entity that is communicating with her via little squares of paper every day.

She smiles, unable to help herself, and slots the note into her bag for safe keeping. 

Right now, though, she has footie practice with Niall and Liam, and she needs to go and get changed. 

Zayn and Harry have taken to watching them during their practices. Which Niall both loves and hates. She practices harder, moves faster, and Louis loves it. As the captain of the team, she loves the motivation behind it, even if Niall is exhausted and smelly afterwards. 

What Louis _doesn’t_ understand is why Harry hangs around and watches them, too. She gets Zayn staying to watch them, because Niall is her girlfriend, and she wants to spend as much time with her as possible. But Louis just figures that Harry is there because she’s Zayn’s best friend. But she doesn’t see how Harry doesn’t get bored watching them.

Today’s practice went longer than usual, and Louis is absolutely wrecked. She just wants to go home, shower, and hang out with her sisters for a few hours before doing her Science homework. But Harry throws her head back, laughing at something Zayn says, and Louis forgets where she is. She just stops and stares. She can’t help it. She’s completely captivated by Harry’s… _everything_. She has the cutest laugh, the sweetest smile, and the best personality ever. Louis is enamoured by her. 

“C’mon, Tommo, move it,” Niall says, nudging Louis as she walks passed. 

Louis snaps back to attention, collecting the footballs to put it in the bag of balls that she hauls out every practice. She tidies up, putting the equipment they use away and locking the door behind her.

“You were good out there.”

Louis jumps. She puts a hand to her chest and closes her eyes. “Harry. You scared me.”

“Sorry,” Harry says sheepishly. “We’re all going to come back to my house for pizza, and I was hoping you would come, too?” 

Louis nods. “I need to shower first, though, I stink. Text me your address?”

Harry beams at her. “Okay.”

Which is how Louis finds herself at Harry’s place instead of cuddling with her little sisters on the sofa at her own place. She shuffles nervously from one foot to the other and takes a breath before pushing the doorbell. There’s a brass number 17 stuck on the door and Louis stares at it while she waits. She hears laughter floating from behind the door, and then Harry appears, all smiles, and big, curly hair, looking like she’s just stepped out of a high end fashion catalogue. Louis doesn’t quite understand how she’s so gorgeous all of the time. 

“Louis! I’m so glad you’re here!” Harry exclaims. She reaches for Louis’ hand and all but drags her inside. “Niall said she knew what you liked, so we ordered pizza. It’s just got here.”

Louis quickly toes off her shoes where there’s a pile of others. She’d recognise Niall’s beat up shoes anywhere. She makes her way to the lounge room where everyone else is sitting around the coffee table, pizza slices in hand. 

She sits down next to Liam, bumping their shoulders together affectionately before she reaches for a slice of pizza. Harry reappears a moment later, passing Louis a glass of cola. She thanks Harry and sets the glass down on the table. 

“We’re just talking about your secret admirer,” Niall says nonchalantly. Louis promptly chokes on the food in her mouth. She coughs, spluttering into a napkin that Liam hastily shoves into her hand. Her hand is soothing on Louis’ back, and once Louis finishes coughing, she’s going to tell Liam that she’s Louis’ very best friend in the entire world.

“ _Niall_ ,” Liam hisses.

“Why the fuck would you talk about that?” Louis asks abruptly, glaring at Niall.

“You dropped one at footie practice,” Harry says softly. She holds up a blue square of paper. Louis snatches it from her, but then shoots her an apologetic look. It’s not Harry’s fault that Louis’ friends have big mouths. She stuffs the paper into her pocket without even looking at it. She is so embarrassed right now.

“Do you know who’s sending them?” Zayn asks. 

Louis’ gaze flicks to her. She shakes her head. “No idea whatsoever.” She takes a sip of her drink. She’s not hungry anymore, she feels too queasy, too put on the spot. She hates it. 

Zayn hums in a way that has Louis’ focus honing in on her. “What?” 

“Do _you_ know who it is?”

Zayn shrugs. “Yeah.” She doesn’t give any more information, and she doesn’t seem like she’s going to, either. From the look on Niall’s face, _she_ doesn’t know who it is, either. Which is something, at least. 

Louis hesitates. She wants to know _more_ but she knows that Zayn won’t tell her anything. She opens her mouth a few times to say something but nothing comes out. Finally, she takes a breath and steels herself for the answer to the question that she’s been dying to know.

“So someone _isn’t_ pulling a prank on me?”

Zayn shakes her head. She briefly meets Louis’ eyes before her gaze drops to the pizza in her hand. “Nope. The notes are meant for you.”

Well. 

Louis wasn’t expecting that at all.

“Is everyone liking the pizza?” Harry asks. Her cheeks are unusually pink, but she turns her smile to Louis and Louis just melts. She nods, picking up the slice she had abandoned and takes a bite. Harry’s expression softens as she looks at Louis before she reaches for another slice herself.

Thankfully the conversation turns from Louis’ note-giver to the match they are going to play at the weekend. Louis is excited – they’re facing their long-time rivals and she’s eager to kick their arses by scoring as many goals as she can. 

A little while later, there’s a tail that brushes against Louis’ arm and she jolts in surprise. She looks down, seeing a black and white cat staring at her. The cat brushes up against her arm again and purrs. Louis immediately scratches behind her ears and the purring intensifies.

“Dusty really likes you,” Harry says, a small smile on her lips. “She usually takes a while to warm up to people.”

Louis feels pride surging in her chest at that. “She’s a cute cat.”

“See, Louis, I told you that you could be a pussy magnet if you tried hard enough!” Niall cackles. Liam swats at her, giving her a stern look but Louis just brushes it off. 

“For a cat as cute as this, I’ll happily take that title,” Louis quips. Harry grins at her and it’s the only response that Louis cares about.

“We have two cats,” Harry says, reaching over to scratch at Dusty’s ears, too. “But Dottie likes to stay in the kitchen because we get really good sunlight in there.”

After they’ve had enough pizza to eat, Harry puts a movie on. Dusty curls up onto Louis’ lap, purring contentedly where she rests, Louis’ hands patting her the entire time. Niall and Zayn squash into an armchair together, while Liam, Harry, and Louis take the sofa with Harry in the middle. She radiates heat that has Louis unconsciously leaning into her. She’s so close that she doesn’t even realise it until Harry gets up to go to the toilet half way through the movie.

The evening ends far too quickly for Louis’ liking, but it is a school night, and she does still have that Science homework to do. With a sigh, Louis gets up off the sofa and helps Harry clean up their mess before wandering out to her car. Harry follows, shivering a little in the chill of the night air. She wraps her arms around herself, making herself look small and making Louis desperately want to hug her.

“Thanks for dinner,” Louis says awkwardly. She has no idea how to interact with Harry properly. It’s hard having a crush on someone and spending so much time with them. 

But Louis can’t hate it all – she’s really getting to know Harry, and she loves it. She wants to know more about her – she wants to know everything she can about Harry. It won’t help her crush, but Harry is worth knowing. 

“Maybe next time it could just be the two of us?” Harry suggests. 

“Yeah, if you like. We can work on our English project a bit more,” Louis replies, unlocking her car and opening the door. 

Harry’s expression changes for a fraction of a second before she’s smiling and nodding at Louis. “Alright. Drive safely, Louis. Have a good night.”

Louis must be more tired than she thinks, because it looked like Harry was moving closer to her before changing her mind at the last second. 

She gets in her car and drives away.

~*~

_I want to know what it’s like to kiss your lips_  
 _To feel them on mine._  
 _They’d fit so perfectly together_  
 _I think about it all of the time._

Louis’ tongue darts out and licks her suddenly dry lips. 

Her heart thuds in her chest. The fact that these notes are _meant_ for her has changed _everything_. Louis’ fears have been squashed. The person writing the notes does actually like her. The _girl_ writing the notes actually likes her. 

This is more than Louis knows how to deal with.

There’s something else in her locker. She isn’t sure how she didn’t notice that at first, but there’s a little satin bag. Inside it is a handmade friendship bracelet, made with all pink threads. She bites her lip as she runs over the individual colours. The note-writer’s favourite colour is pink. She remembers that. She’s been told some more information since then, too. That they have a sweet tooth, that they like to bake when they’re stressed. That they like pineapple on their pizza (much to the horror of Louis, who thinks pineapple does not belong on pizza at all). 

But this is the first time that Louis has received a gift with her notes.

Which means that someone knows how to get into her locker. 

She isn’t exactly sure how she feels about that. Niall has Louis’ locker combination. And if Zayn knows who the person that is sending Louis the notes, then that leads her to believe that maybe Niall now knows, too. She definitely didn’t know the other night at Harry’s place, but she might have got it out of Zayn over the weekend. 

Louis bites her lip. She swallows thickly. 

It’s all becoming a bit too much. She just wants to know who it is. 

This has been going on for _far_ too long.

“Hey, that’s cute.”

Louis jumps, startled at Harry’s voice. The bracelet is still in Louis’ hands. She didn’t even realise that she’d made her way to English, but she’s been doing that a lot lately – being so distracted that she doesn’t even know when her feet have walked to her next class. She’s thankful that they have a mind of their own, but Louis is grateful that they never seem to make her late for her classes.

“Want a hand putting it on?” Harry asks.

Louis nods. She sits down and holds out her wrist for Harry to tie it onto.

“My favourite colour is pink,” Harry comments. “Where did you get it?”

“Um,” Louis says, swallowing. Her mind is still all over the place. “It was in my locker. The um… The um person who leaves me notes left it there.”

Harry’s fingers are still running over the bracelet where it rests against Louis’ skin. “That’s nice of them,” she says softly. “They must really like you.”

“Do you think it’s weird?” Louis asks, her voice low. She doesn’t want anyone else to hear this conversation. Especially not Zayn. Especially not if Zayn is the one who let the person into her locker. 

“Weird?”

Louis nods. “I figured that the person was just sliding the notes into my locker, but this,” she holds out her bracelet clad wrist, “means that they’ve broke into my locker to give me a gift. Is that weird to you?”

Harry’s cheeks are a little pink and she opens her mouth to respond, but Miss Collins calls the attention of everyone in the class so she can’t respond.

“You’re a jerk.”

Louis blinks. Zayn is standing in front of her, waiting for Louis to exit their English classroom.

“What?”

Zayn picks up Louis’ wrist and holds it out, thumb sliding under the bracelet for a brief moment before. “She really likes you, you idiot.”

Louis is so very confused. But before she can ask _who_ , Zayn has already walked too far away. 

Confusion fills Louis’ brain once again.

~*~

The notes completely stop.

At first Louis thinks that it’s just because they’ve had some pretty big tests in their classes this week, but the next Monday rolls around and there’s still no notes. 

She sits down at lunch, disheartened. 

She doesn’t even react when Niall takes her entire sandwich, munching on it far noisier than she really has the right to, but Louis just doesn’t care.

“What’s wrong?” Niall asks through a mouthful of food.

“I think she’s in my English class,” Louis says. She fiddles with the end of the bracelet that she hasn’t taken off since Harry put it on her wrist. 

“Who?” Liam asks. 

Harry and Zayn sit down at their table, too, and Louis looks at Zayn before ducking her head. 

“The girl who writes me the notes,” Louis mumbles. “She’s stopped writing them to me.”

Zayn immediately gets back up. She plants a kiss on Niall’s lips before wandering away.

“Why is my girlfriend mad at you?” Niall asks, glaring at Louis. “Zayn never gets mad at anyone.”

“I don’t know!” Louis exclaims.

“What happened, then?” Liam asks diplomatically.

Louis’ gaze flicks up to Liam and she sighs. “I think the girl overheard me say that it’s a little creepy that they broke into my locker to leave me a gift,” she says in a rush.

“The bracelet that you haven’t taken off since you got it?” Niall asks, raising her eyebrows.

Louis draws her hands under the table, fiddling with the end of it again. “I like it,” she mumbles.

“Why is Zayn mad at you then?” Liam asks. 

“Because she knows who it is, doesn’t she?” Louis says. “And if the girl is in my English class, she might’ve heard me too, and she’s probably mad at me for calling her creepy.” She keeps her gaze on the table, unable to take the judging looks from her friends, and from Harry, who has remained silent throughout this entire conversation. Louis doesn’t blame her – she didn’t sign up for this craziness when their best friends started dating.

“You like her though, yeah?” Niall asks. Her voice is uncharacteristically soft. 

Louis looks up. “I…” she chances a glance at Harry who is fiddling with her drink bottle. “Yeah, a bit. I feel like I’ve really got to know her. Well, as much as I can with a one-sided conversation. But… Yeah, I like her.”

“So maybe stand up in front of your English class and say that you’d like to know who is sending you the notes?” Niall suggests with the brazenness that Louis has come to know and love.

“I love you, Niall, but there’s no way in hell I’m doing that,” Louis replies. 

“Why not?” Harry asks. 

Louis glances at her. “Because I don’t want to be humiliated in front of everyone.”

Harry makes a noise that Louis can’t decipher. “She’s clearly put herself out there for you. Maybe you should do the same?”

Which is how Louis finds herself raising her hand in her next English lesson when there’s five minutes left to go. Her foot taps nervously against the desk leg and Miss Collins turns to her.

“Yes, Louis?” she asks.

Louis stands up. She feels queasy. But she’s doing to do this. “Um,” she begins shakily. Harry gives her an encouraging smile. “I just wanted to say – to the person who has been writing me notes and leaving them in my locker… I think you’re lovely, and I’d like to know who you are.”

Snickers break out from the girls in the back row. Louis sits down and immediately rules them out. Her cheeks burn and she ducks her head, overwhelmed with embarrassment. 

Zayn is waiting for her outside of their classroom a few minutes later. 

“Message received,” she says simply. She passes Louis a pink square of paper. 

_I’m ready for you to know who I am._

Louis stares at the words, her heart thudding in her chest for the second time that afternoon. She smiles, unable to help herself. She’s finally going to figure out who this girl is. 

She spots Harry and Zayn talking near Harry’s locker and her heart sinks in her chest. If only it could be…

She sighs and turns the other way, heading for her next class.

~*~

It’s raining. It’s England, so it’s often raining.

But Louis was hoping that there would be sunshine and birds singing and not a cloud in sight. But she so often doesn’t get her way. 

_Meet me at your car, 3:30 pm_

The note had been in Louis’ locker that morning. That’s all it said. It’s the first note she’s had in almost two weeks.

It’s Friday and Louis is staring at the clock on the wall, willing time to go faster. 

The rain doesn’t let up. She is going to get soaked getting to her car. Why couldn’t the person have offered to meet Louis at her locker instead? Or somewhere _inside_ – somewhere _dry_ and warm. Louis is going to freeze her tits off out in that weather.

The afternoon drags on.

Niall and Liam know, which means that Zayn and Harry also know. But she told them that they were not allowed to be there at all. She can’t handle the pressure of them watching her. 

Louis looks at the clock again. She swears it has moved _backwards_.

The bell finally rings. The rain hasn’t let up at all. The car park empties and Louis’ is the only one left there. She hesitates before making her way out to it. She can see a dark figure standing there, their back to Louis. But she determinedly makes her way across to her car, trying not to lose her footing on the slick ground. 

A few metres away, Louis stops. She has been so desperate to know who this person is for so long, and it’s right in her grasp, but she can’t help but feel sad. She likes this girl, whoever they are. But she likes Harry _more_. Harry who is straight, who has only queer friends, who has the best laugh, and the nicest smile that Louis has ever seen. 

It’s Harry who makes her heart sing in her chest, and it’s Harry who Louis so desperately wants the note-writer to be.

So desperate that she’s clearly hallucinated Harry being the one leaning against Louis’ car. 

_Shit_. She is probably supposed to give Harry a lift home and has forgot about it. Zayn and Niall went home together with Liam, and Louis completely forgot about Harry needing a way home, too. 

“Hi,” Harry says. “Can we get in? I’m soaking.”

Louis nods. She unlocks the car and they get in. She starts the engine and turns on the heater, trying to warm Harry up. Harry who is soaking wet, and who looks like she’s been standing in the rain for far too long.

“What are you doing out here?” Louis asks. “It’s bloody freezing. You may have missed the rain?” she teases.

Harry gives her an incredulous look. “God you’re dense, aren’t you?”

“What?” Louis asks. 

“I thought I was being obvious,” Harry continues, like Louis is following the conversation when she really, really isn’t. “I wrote on pink paper, I told you about my cats. I _live_ at number seventeen!”

Louis gapes at her, confused.

“I was _so hurt_ when you said I was creepy for breaking into your locker, Louis.”

“Wait. _What_?”

Harry sighs. “It’s me. I’m the one who wrote you the notes.”

“But you’re straight?”

Harry rears back. “I never said I was straight.”

“You’re not?”

“…clearly.”

Louis opens and closes her mouth, trying to put the pieces together. “Oh,” is all she gets out.

“Oh?” Harry says, her voice small. “I’m sorry, I thought… I’m sorry.”

She reaches for the door handle and Louis’ body seems to work before her mind does because she’s leaning across and slamming the door shut.

“I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you _so badly_.”

Harry turns to face Louis, something akin to hope in her eyes. 

“I’ve fancied you for so long now,” Louis continues. “I thought I was never going to have a chance. I wanted it to be you so badly that I thought I made it all up. That you were just waiting here for a lift home.”

“…I’d also like a lift home, please,” Harry whispers. She’s impossibly close now. Louis can see the raindrops that are stubbornly clinging to Harry’s eyelashes. 

“I’ve only ever wanted it to be you.”

Harry’s breath is warm on Louis’ cheek, her skin pink from the cold, her lips bitten red and looking so inviting. Louis closes the distance between them and kisses Harry soundly on the lips. 

It’s better than Louis could ever hope. 

It feels like everything has led up to this moment. Louis’ heart thuds in her chest, and she swears that Harry can feel it, too. Her lips are unbelievably soft under Louis’ own. Louis never wants to stop kissing Harry _ever_.

~*~

_I love the way you kiss me_

Louis grins. She pretty much hasn’t stopped smiling since finding out that it was Harry leaving the notes. She closes her locker and laughs when Harry’s face appears, standing next to the row of lockers, a little pink square in her hands. 

Louis plucks the note from her fingers and reads it. “ _Kiss me_?” she reads aloud.

“Well, since you asked so kindly,” Harry replies. She pulls Louis in by the strap of her bag and slots their lips easily together. Louis slips the note into her pocket to add to her growing collection at home. 

“Alright, cut it out you two,” Niall says loudly, interrupting them.

Louis can’t help but smile against Harry’s lips, not wanting to part from her just yet. And from the way Harry keeps trying to bring their lips back together, it seems like she doesn’t want to stop yet, either.

**Author's Note:**

> hi again. if you've got this far, i hope you enjoyed this part. ♥  
> please leave me a comment if you liked it. i love comments so very much a lot. ♥
> 
>  
> 
> rebloggable post on my [tumblr](https://star55.tumblr.com/post/185306123321)


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